Monk Eastman

Edward "Monk" Eastman (1875-26 December 1920) was an American crime boss who led the powerful Jewish Eastman Gang of New York City during the early 20th century.

Biography
Edward Eastman was born in Corlear's Hook in lower Manhattan, New York in 1875, the son of an American Civil War veteran who abandoned the family. Eastman became a criminal in New York City during the 1890s, using Irish aliases while stealing goods and money. Eastman was recruited by Democratic Party leaders to assist in election fraud, and Eastman's gang of criminals forced voters to vote for the Democrats. In 1904, he was sentenced to ten years in prison for assault, and he was released in 1909. However, his gang had fragmented during his time in prison, with acting boss Max Zwerbach being killed by the gang's rivals. Paul Kelly's Five Points Gang became the most powerful street gang in the city, and Eastman became an opium addict. In 1917, the 42-year-old Eastman decided to enlist in the US Army, telling a doctor that the knife and bullet scars on his body were from "a lot of little wars around New York." Eastman served in the US 27th Infantry Division during World War I, and Governor Al Smith restored Eastman's voting rights due to his service in the army. However, Eastman met a violent end on 26 December 1920 when he had an argument with corrupt detective Jerry Bohan over money. Bohan shot Eastman several times with a pistol in an alleyway, killing him.